Book on 2012 presidential race spells out issues with Christie

Chris Christie — just days away from an election where he hopes to show the nation a new model for Republican victory — is facing a hangover from the last national GOP loss.

A new book, “Double Down: Game Change 2012,” lays bare every major event on Christie’s path toward his decision not to run for president last year. It details GOP candidate Mitt Romney’s courtship of Christie as his vice presidential candidate, recounting how Christie played hard-to-get with his endorsement and how Romney found the governor’s record troubling and his approach to politics mafia-esque.

Many of the areas that the Romney team zeroed in on — Christie’s medical history, past lawsuits against and by him, his previous work as a lobbyist — are not new. But they hint at Christie’s potential vulnerabilities, and the intense scrutiny they would receive, if he decides to pursue a presidential run in 2016.

And the book makes fun of Christie’s weight at every turn. Recounting President Obama’s visit to the Garden State after Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, the authors write, “Next to Christie, Obama resembled a stick figure; next to Obama, Christie looked like a dirigible.”

The book details the Romney campaign’s reaction to the famous Christie embrace of Obama after Superstorm Sandy — an image that helped boost the governor’s approval ratings to record highs.

“Mitt tried not to be irritated. … He was sure that Chris wasn’t trying to hurt him; the man just lacked self-control.”

At campaign stops Friday, Christie brushed off the claims as an attempt to sell books and said he has a good relationship with the Romneys.

An aide to Christie also arranged for Beth Myers, who oversaw the vice-presidential search for Romney, to issue a statement late this week that read: “Governor Christie complied fully with the Romney campaign’s request for documents in a timely manner, including a complete medical report from his internist and cardiologist.”

Political analysts said the book was unlikely to substantially hurt Christie’s national image. He will be considered an early front-runner if he decides to run for president in 2016. Christie, they pointed out, has been able to mostly deflect criticism and concerns with sharp retorts and an in-your-face style. That’s part of the reason some polls have him ahead of his Democratic challenger for governor in Tuesday’s election by as much as 30 points.

The book is set to be released Tuesday, Election Day in New Jersey. The Record purchased a copy Friday.

A full chapter is devoted to Christie, and takes its title “Big Boy” from the nickname given him by President George W. Bush. The book was written by Mark Halperin, an editor at large for Time magazine, and John Heilemann, national affairs editor for New York magazine. The two also wrote “Game Change,” an account of the 2008 presidential race that was later made into an HBO movie.

But while looking at Christie as a potential running mate last year, fellow Republican and then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney saw a background “littered with potential land mines,” according to the behind-the-scenes book.

The book talks about other potential problems for Christie, including a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission by his brother Todd.

“The vetters were stunned by the garish controversies lurking in the shadows of his record” — spending as U.S. attorney, lobbying activity, steering contracts to donors and allies as U.S. attorney, a 1994 defamation lawsuit, Todd Christie’s SEC settlement. “Some of these were probably nothingburgers — though the vetters still needed answers. … Added together, they were a potential political nightmare.”

One vetter, Ted Newtown, after seeing these “garish controversies,” told other Romney aides, “If Christie had been in the nomination fight against us, we would have destroyed him — he wouldn’t be able to run for governor again.”

The book also reportedly says the Romney team poked fun at Christie’s weight, nicknaming him “puffer fish,” and was repeatedly annoyed by his tardiness at joint fundraising events and his demand for lavish travel arrangements.

“Punctuality mattered to Romney. Christie’s lateness bugged him. Mitt also cared about fitness, and was prone to poke fun at those who didn’t. (“Oh, there’s your date for tonight,” he would say to male members of his traveling crew when they spied a chunky lady on the street.) Romney marveled at Christie’s girth, his difficulties in making his way down the narrow aisle of the campaign bus. Watching a video of Christie without his suit jacket on, Romney cackled to his aides, “Guys! Look at that!”

More significant than the substance of the Romney team’s concerns could be Christie’s reluctance to talk about those issues in detail, said Patrick Murray, a Monmouth University pollster. The book says the Romney team felt Christie was not forthcoming with his medical records. If that continues, it may not play well with national voters and media, he said.

“If he is seen as not being transparent, it could have a negative effect,” Murray said.

Great detail is presented about Romney’s rocky courtship of the governor.

After a dinner meeting at the governor’s residence at Drumthwacket at which Romney pressed Christie for his endorsement, the two moved to the library, where Christie warned his guest against raising money in New Jersey until he had made up his mind.

Christie did eventually support Romney, who valued the New Jersey governor’s fundraising ability and his performance on the stump. But the book says Romney’s team also found the governor and his staff “overbearing and hard to work with, demanding in ways that would have been unthinkable from any other surrogate.”

It says “Trenton insisted on private jets, lavish spreads of food, space for a massive entourage,” as if Christie were running for president. Christie also showed up so late to a donor event in New York that Romney had to take the stage to speak, as if he were the governor’s warm-up act.

The vetting process, according to the book, “amounted to a political body cavity search.”

There was also concern about his blunt delivery. The vetting committee put together a DVD of Christie’s “most outlandish or unnerving” YouTube videos, including one where he called a pro-gay marriage assemblyman “numb nuts.”

Brigid Harrison, a political science professor at Montclair State University, said the criticisms by Romney’s team carried less weight because of Romney’s loss.

“It’s not as if Romney is held up as an icon of political success in the Republican Party,” she said. “If we were talking about someone of the ilk of a Ronald Reagan, there might be some damage, but given the context, I don’t think there’s much effect.”

Email: boburg@northjersey.com

Governor Christie and Mitt Romney at a campaign stop in Iowa in December 2011.

Chris Christie during his run for governor in 2009 accepting the endorsement of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at a campaign stop in Haddonfield.

Book on 2012 presidential race spells out issues with Christie

Governor Christie and Mitt Romney at a campaign stop in Iowa in December 2011.

By MICHAEL LINHORST and SHAWN BOBURG

STAFF WRITERS |

The Record

Chris Christie — just days away from an election where he hopes to show the nation a new model for Republican victory — is facing a hangover from the last national GOP loss.

A new book, “Double Down: Game Change 2012,” lays bare every major event on Christie’s path toward his decision not to run for president last year. It details GOP candidate Mitt Romney’s courtship of Christie as his vice presidential candidate, recounting how Christie played hard-to-get with his endorsement and how Romney found the governor’s record troubling and his approach to politics mafia-esque.

Many of the areas that the Romney team zeroed in on — Christie’s medical history, past lawsuits against and by him, his previous work as a lobbyist — are not new. But they hint at Christie’s potential vulnerabilities, and the intense scrutiny they would receive, if he decides to pursue a presidential run in 2016.

And the book makes fun of Christie’s weight at every turn. Recounting President Obama’s visit to the Garden State after Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, the authors write, “Next to Christie, Obama resembled a stick figure; next to Obama, Christie looked like a dirigible.”

The book details the Romney campaign’s reaction to the famous Christie embrace of Obama after Superstorm Sandy — an image that helped boost the governor’s approval ratings to record highs.

“Mitt tried not to be irritated. … He was sure that Chris wasn’t trying to hurt him; the man just lacked self-control.”

At campaign stops Friday, Christie brushed off the claims as an attempt to sell books and said he has a good relationship with the Romneys.

An aide to Christie also arranged for Beth Myers, who oversaw the vice-presidential search for Romney, to issue a statement late this week that read: “Governor Christie complied fully with the Romney campaign’s request for documents in a timely manner, including a complete medical report from his internist and cardiologist.”

Political analysts said the book was unlikely to substantially hurt Christie’s national image. He will be considered an early front-runner if he decides to run for president in 2016. Christie, they pointed out, has been able to mostly deflect criticism and concerns with sharp retorts and an in-your-face style. That’s part of the reason some polls have him ahead of his Democratic challenger for governor in Tuesday’s election by as much as 30 points.

The book is set to be released Tuesday, Election Day in New Jersey. The Record purchased a copy Friday.

A full chapter is devoted to Christie, and takes its title “Big Boy” from the nickname given him by President George W. Bush. The book was written by Mark Halperin, an editor at large for Time magazine, and John Heilemann, national affairs editor for New York magazine. The two also wrote “Game Change,” an account of the 2008 presidential race that was later made into an HBO movie.

But while looking at Christie as a potential running mate last year, fellow Republican and then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney saw a background “littered with potential land mines,” according to the behind-the-scenes book.

The book talks about other potential problems for Christie, including a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission by his brother Todd.

“The vetters were stunned by the garish controversies lurking in the shadows of his record” — spending as U.S. attorney, lobbying activity, steering contracts to donors and allies as U.S. attorney, a 1994 defamation lawsuit, Todd Christie’s SEC settlement. “Some of these were probably nothingburgers — though the vetters still needed answers. … Added together, they were a potential political nightmare.”

One vetter, Ted Newtown, after seeing these “garish controversies,” told other Romney aides, “If Christie had been in the nomination fight against us, we would have destroyed him — he wouldn’t be able to run for governor again.”

The book also reportedly says the Romney team poked fun at Christie’s weight, nicknaming him “puffer fish,” and was repeatedly annoyed by his tardiness at joint fundraising events and his demand for lavish travel arrangements.

“Punctuality mattered to Romney. Christie’s lateness bugged him. Mitt also cared about fitness, and was prone to poke fun at those who didn’t. (“Oh, there’s your date for tonight,” he would say to male members of his traveling crew when they spied a chunky lady on the street.) Romney marveled at Christie’s girth, his difficulties in making his way down the narrow aisle of the campaign bus. Watching a video of Christie without his suit jacket on, Romney cackled to his aides, “Guys! Look at that!”

More significant than the substance of the Romney team’s concerns could be Christie’s reluctance to talk about those issues in detail, said Patrick Murray, a Monmouth University pollster. The book says the Romney team felt Christie was not forthcoming with his medical records. If that continues, it may not play well with national voters and media, he said.

“If he is seen as not being transparent, it could have a negative effect,” Murray said.

Great detail is presented about Romney’s rocky courtship of the governor.

After a dinner meeting at the governor’s residence at Drumthwacket at which Romney pressed Christie for his endorsement, the two moved to the library, where Christie warned his guest against raising money in New Jersey until he had made up his mind.

Christie did eventually support Romney, who valued the New Jersey governor’s fundraising ability and his performance on the stump. But the book says Romney’s team also found the governor and his staff “overbearing and hard to work with, demanding in ways that would have been unthinkable from any other surrogate.”

It says “Trenton insisted on private jets, lavish spreads of food, space for a massive entourage,” as if Christie were running for president. Christie also showed up so late to a donor event in New York that Romney had to take the stage to speak, as if he were the governor’s warm-up act.

The vetting process, according to the book, “amounted to a political body cavity search.”

There was also concern about his blunt delivery. The vetting committee put together a DVD of Christie’s “most outlandish or unnerving” YouTube videos, including one where he called a pro-gay marriage assemblyman “numb nuts.”

Brigid Harrison, a political science professor at Montclair State University, said the criticisms by Romney’s team carried less weight because of Romney’s loss.

“It’s not as if Romney is held up as an icon of political success in the Republican Party,” she said. “If we were talking about someone of the ilk of a Ronald Reagan, there might be some damage, but given the context, I don’t think there’s much effect.”